Over the past four years, Stefanos Tsitsipas has established himself unequivocally as one of the game’s most charismatic players, ruffling some feathers along the way because of his hard-edged personality, developing a large legion of admirers with his diversified game and unflagging competitive spirit, capturing the attention of tennis fans from every corner of the globe by displaying his many attributes and exposing a few vulnerabilities. Complicated he is, but know this about Tsitsipas: he is totally dedicated to his craft and a multi-faceted man who is good for the game of tennis.
To be sure, Tsitsipas has been deservedly in the forefront of the game for quite some time. And yet, for a variety of reasons, this Greek stylist was not fully himself for much of the past year. He was shattered emotionally by losing the French Open final in 2021 after building a two set lead over Novak Djokovic in the final. His psyche and results suffered considerably thereafter. He had surgery for an ailing right elbow late last year.
But now Tsitsipas may well have turned the corner and recovered a large measure of self conviction by defending his crown at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters tournament on the red clay. By eclipsing the fleet-footed Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the final, Tsitsipas placed himself in elite territory at this illustrious Masters 1000 event. He joins Ilie Nastase (1971-73), Bjorn Borg (1979-80), Thomas Muster (1995-96), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2002-2003), and Rafael Nadal (2005-2012 and 2016-2018) as one of only six men ever to take the Monte Carlo title at least two years in a row. Clearly, that is no mean feat.
The achievement becomes all the more remarkable in light of his recent woes. After winning in Lyon last spring, Tsitsipas appeared in eleven tournaments the rest of the year and then six more at the start of 2022 without claiming a title. Those cumulative setbacks weigh heavily in the mind of any great player, and he unmistakably was wearing those wounds painfully across a long period of time.
Moreover, Tsitsipas nearly suffered what would have been one of the most devastatingly potent defeats of his career in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo. He was putting on a virtuoso display of his court craft against Diego Schwartzman, the “Little Big Man” of tennis. The Greek performer was flowing freely off the ground, coming forward at all the right times, volleying with panache, and serving with pinpoint accuracy and commendable variety in taking a 6-2, 5-2 lead.
Schwartzman is widely revered for his unwavering competitiveness and one of the largest hearts in tennis, but Tsitsipas seemed unstoppable up until that juncture. Yet he fell into disarray, dropping 14 of the next 15 points. Tsitsipas lost that set in a tie-break and then Schwartzman moved in front 4-0, 40-30 in the third set. Tsitsipas was on the edge of a humiliating defeat, but he approached down the line off the backhand, forcing Schwartzman into a passing shot error. Somehow, Tsitsipas rediscovered his winning formula, sweeping six games in a row from the brink of extinction to win the hard way 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4.
Having survived that harrowing ordeal, Tsitsipas upended Sascha Zverev 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals. Zverev has been well below par for most of this season, but he had acquitted himself honorably in overcoming Jannik Sinner to reach the penultimate round. Zverev had twice been up a break in the final set and served for the match in that hard fought baseline battle, but they went to a final set tie-break which was locked at 5-5. Sinner’s fragile psyche was evident there as he lost the last two points with unforced errors, falling 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
That victory could conceivably have taken Zverev out of his 2022 doldrums and lifted him back to the level he exhibited so convincingly across the second half of 2021, when the German performed mightily and closed the year by defeating Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev back to back for his second ATP Nitto ATP Finals title.
But, instead, Tsitsipas was far too flexible and inventive for Zverev. He toppled the German for the seventh time in ten head to head appointments over the course of their careers. There were five service breaks in the opening set with Tsitsipas sealing it at last in the tenth game, but from 2-2 in the second set the Greek competitor pulled away inexorably as Zverev essentially surrendered. Tsitsipas deserves high marks for securing 16 of the last 20 points and four games in a row with unerring play to complete a 6-4, 6-2 victory, although Zverev’s passivity and resignation to losing down the stretch were disconcerting to me.
And so Tsitsipas found himself in the final against the surprising Davidovich Fokina. The 22-year-old came into Monte Carlo ranked No. 46 in the world. After accounting for the American Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-3 in the first round, the Spaniard then faced Djokovic. Although this was only Djokovic’s second tournament and fourth match of 2022, he remained a heavy favorite to beat Davidovich Fokina. In two previous meetings against the Spaniard, the Serbian had conceded only seven games in four sets.
But this time they met on an exceedingly windy day. Davidovich Fokina was hitting through the wind much better than Djokovic. The fact that Djokovic had not played a tournament since Dubai— in addition to the wind being so burdensome— made the world No. 1 particularly vulnerable on that afternoon. He lost his serve an astounding nine times across three sets (a career record), and never found his range off the ground.
Davidovich Fokina put himself within range of a straight set victory primarily because his court coverage was so extraordinary. Djokovic tried too many drop shots and his Spanish adversary chased them down with astonishing alacrity, largely taking that tactic away from the Serbian. Down a set and trailing 2-4 in the second set, Djokovic made it to a tie-break. From 2-4 down in that sequence, he took five of six points, securing the set with a masterful point which he won with a scintillating forehand down the line passing shot winner.
But Djokovic’s lack of match play hurt him badly in the third set. He could no longer stay with Davidovich Fokina from the backcourt. He admitted after his 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 defeat that his stamina was sorely lacking in the final set, conceding that he “ran out of gas.”
Meanwhile Davidovich Fokina did not waste his big win over the top seed. He beat David Goffin, Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov to reach his first Masters 1000 final. But he was outclassed by Tsitsipas in the title round contest.
The Spaniard managed to gain an early break for 2-1 in the first set but Tsitsipas had the upper hand almost entirely in sweeping seven of the next eight games to move ahead by a set and 2-0. Davidovich, however, was ready to make a move. He took three games in a row with heavier hitting and a reduction of errors. Nevertheless, Tsitsipas weathered that storm and broke again at 4-4.
Serving for the match at 5-4, Tsitsipas led 15-0 but lost his serve at 30. That should not happen to a player of his talent and experience. His first Masters 1000 final was in the summer of 2018 in Canada. He won Monte Carlo a year ago. He has been in three Australian Open semifinals and made it to the French Open semifinals in 2020 before reaching the final last year. Why was he so insecure trying to serve out the match against Davidovich Fokina? I don’t have the answer.
Tsitsipas did not gift that game to the Spaniard, but he did nothing special. Be that as it may, he served with more purpose and precision in holding on when he stood at 5-6, 15-30 and then played a disciplined and inspired tie-break to prevail 6-3, 7-6 (3) for his second Masters 1000 crown. This win could not have been more timely for Tsitsipas. It should propel him into the clay court campaign at full force, much the way his 2021 Monte Carlo tournament win did at that time.
Tsitsipas went on in 2021 after Monte Carlo to push Nadal down to the wire in the final of Barcelona. He had a match point before losing that clash. He then won another title not long before Roland Garros and nearly pulled off a trifecta that would have been spectacular in Paris, ousting Medvedev and Zverev before taking the first two sets from Djokovic in the final.
I expect Tsitsipas to enjoy similar success on the clay court trail this year. Winning Monte Carlo again will reignite the Greek in many ways. He will be a big threat at Roland Garros once more, and I would expect him to win another title along the path to Paris on the dirt. One important test for the Greek player could be a semifinal duel with Carlos Alcaraz this week in Barcelona.
Alcaraz, of course, has twice defeated Tsitsipas in recent times, including a magnificent five set victory at the U.S. Open last year. At the end of March in Miami, Alcaraz stopped Tsitsipas again, this time in straight sets.
Both of those encounters took place on hard courts. On the clay, Tsitsipas might have a slightly better chance, although I would still give Alcaraz the slight edge. The Spaniard will be even more eager to win a title in his country this week after a narrow loss to Sebastian Korda in Monte Carlo.
Korda must be admired for winning that battle. He had lost to Alcaraz in straight sets last fall in the title round meeting at the Next Gen ATP Finals, but this time around he came through admirably with the wind blowing ferociously. Korda was measuring his shots more skillfully than Alcaraz. The swirling wind seemed to mess more with the Spaniard’s timing while the American adjusted commendably.
Alcaraz served for the first set at 5-4 and 6-5 but could not close it out, falling short in a tie-break. After taking the second set he led 2-0 in the third but won only one more game. Korda prevailed 7-6 (2), 6–7 (5), 6-3 over Alcaraz before losing to Fritz.
I believe Alcaraz will get over that loss quickly. After reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells and winning Miami, his outlook will remain upbeat. He can win a clay court tournament en route to Paris and will be in the latter stages at Roland Garros as well.
As for Davidovich Fokina, I am encouraged about his prospects. He had won only 4 of 13 matches all season long before Monte Carlo, but now he is expected to be ranked No. 27 in the world following his latest exploits. He is one of the fastest players of all moving forward (and not bad laterally as well), his two-handed backhand is awfully good, and his capacity to go down the line off both sides sets him apart from most players. Davidovich Fokina now has to prove that he is worthy of his newfound status. In my view, he will do well in the upcoming clay court tournaments and win his share of matches, but replicating his Monte Carlo heroics will probably be too tall of a task.
Meanwhile, Djokovic will be in Belgrade this week for the ATP 250 event. This is a chance for him to get back into the swing of things, play a string of matches and perhaps pick up a title. To defend his crown at Roland Garros and thus win a third career title in Paris, Djokovic must find his rhythm swiftly and reacquire the habit of winning. He will be apprehensive competing at home, but the crowds will be cheering him on unabashedly.
So there you have it. In the coming weeks, Djokovic will be hoping to recover his confidence. Alcaraz will be eager to perform well on a surface he enjoys immensely. Zverev will be seeking to reassert himself. Davidovich Fokina will be looking at life from a loftier point of view. Last, but not least, Stefanos Tsitsipas will be having more fun playing professional tennis than he has for a long time after holding on to his crown in Monte Carlo and reminding his peers just how good he can be when he is anywhere near the peak of his powers.
